SparkNotes: The Tempest: Character List Character List Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Prospero - The play’s protagonist, and father of Miranda. Twelve years before the events of the play, Prospero was the duke of Milan. His brother, Antonio, in concert with Alonso, king of Naples, usurped him, forcing him to flee in a boat with his daughter. The honest lord Gonzalo aided Prospero in his escape. Prospero has spent his twelve years on the island refining the magic that gives him the power he needs to punish and forgive his enemies. Read an in-depth analysis of Prospero. Miranda - The daughter of Prospero, Miranda was brought to the island at an early age and has never seen any men other than her father and Caliban, though she dimly remembers being cared for by female servants as an infant. Because she has been sealed off from the world for so long, Miranda’s perceptions of other people tend to be naïve and non-judgmental. She is compassionate, generous, and loyal to her father. Read an in-depth analysis of Miranda. Ariel - Prospero’s spirit helper.

Ariel is referred to throughout this SparkNote and in most criticism as “he,” but his gender and physical form are ambiguous. Rescued by Prospero from a long imprisonment at the hands of the witch Sycorax, Ariel is Prospero’s servant until Prospero decides to release him. He is mischievous and ubiquitous, able to traverse the length of the island in an instant and to change shapes at will. He carries out virtually every task that Prospero needs accomplished in the play. Caliban - Another of Prospero’s servants. Caliban, the son of the now-deceased witch Sycorax, acquainted Prospero with the island when Prospero arrived. Caliban believes that the island rightfully belongs to him and has been stolen by Prospero. His speech and behavior is sometimes coarse and brutal, as in his drunken scenes with Stephano and Trinculo (II.ii, IV.i), and sometimes eloquent and sensitive, as in his rebukes of Prospero in Act I, scene ii, and in his description of the eerie beauty of the island in Act III, scene ii (III.ii.130-138). Read an in-depth analysis of Caliban.

Ferdinand - Son and heir of Alonso. Ferdinand seems in some ways to be as pure and naïve as Miranda. He falls in love with her upon first sight and happily submits to servitude in order to win her father’s approval. Alonso - King of Naples and father of Ferdinand. Alonso aided Antonio in unseating Prospero as Duke of Milan twelve years before. As he appears in the play, however, he is acutely aware of the consequences of all his actions. He blames his decision to marry his daughter to the Prince of Tunis on the apparent death of his son. In addition, after the magical banquet, he regrets his role in the usurping of Prospero. Antonio - Prospero’s brother. Antonio quickly demonstrates that he is power-hungry and foolish. In Act II, scene i, he persuades Sebastian to kill the sleeping Alonso. He then goes along with Sebastian’s absurd story about fending off lions when Gonzalo wakes up and catches Antonio and Sebastian with their swords drawn. Sebastian - Alonso’s brother. Like Antonio, he is both aggressive and cowardly.

He is easily persuaded to kill his brother in Act II, scene i, and he initiates the ridiculous story about lions when Gonzalo catches him with his sword drawn. Gonzalo - An old, honest lord, Gonzalo helped Prospero and Miranda to escape after Antonio usurped Prospero’s title. Gonzalo’s speeches provide an important commentary on the events of the play, as he remarks on the beauty of the island when the stranded party first lands, then on the desperation of Alonso after the magic banquet, and on the miracle of the reconciliation in Act V, scene i. Trinculo & Stephano - Trinculo, a jester, and Stephano, a drunken butler, are two minor members of the shipwrecked party. They provide a comic foil to the other, more powerful pairs of Prospero and Alonso and Antonio and Sebastian. Their drunken boasting and petty greed reflect and deflate the quarrels and power struggles of Prospero and the other noblemen. Boatswain - Appearing only in the first and last scenes, the Boatswain is vigorously good-natured. He seems competent and almost cheerful in the shipwreck scene, demanding practical help rather than weeping and praying.

And he seems surprised but not stunned when he awakens from a long sleep at the end of the play. More Help Shakespeare's The Tempest - The Relationship Between Miranda and Ferdinand The Relationship Between Miranda and Ferdinand From Shakespeare's Comedy of The Tempest. Ed. William J. Rolfe. New York: American Book Company. Miranda is a unique and exquisite creation of the poet's magic. She is his ideal maiden, brought up from babyhood in an ideal way � the child of nature, with no other training than she received from a wise and loving father � an ideal father we may say. She reminds me of Wordsworth's lovely picture of the child whom nature has adopted as her own:� "Three years she grew in sun and shower, Then Nature said, 'A lovelier flower On earth was never sown; This child I to myself will take; She shall be mine, and I will make A lady of my own. "'Myself will to my darling be Both law and impulse; and with me The girl, in rock and plain. In earth and heaven, in glade and bower, Shall feel an overseeing power To kindle or restrain.

"'The floating clouds their state shall lend To her; for her the willow bend; Nor shall she fail to see Even in the motions of the storm Grace that shall mould the maiden's form By silent sympathy. "'The stars of midnight shall be dear To her; and she shall lean her ear In many a secret place Where rivulets dance their wayward round. And beauty bom of murmuring sound Shall pass into her face'" � into her face, and into her soul no less, the spiritual effect of nature's influences being as marked as the physical. And nature on this enchanted island is more than nature anywhere else on earth, for the supernatural � that which is beyond and above nature � is added, through the potent and benign art of Prospero. He has been her teacher too � a loving teacher with ample leisure for the training of this single pupil, the sole companion, comfort, and hope of his exile life.

He says:� "Here in this island we arriv'd; and here Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit Than other princess can, that have more time For vainer hours, and tutors not so careful." An excellent education, the worldly-wise may say, for the maiden on the lonely isle, if she is to live there all her days with her wise and watchful father for sole companion and guardian; but will she not make a fool of herself if she is suddenly removed from this isolated existence to the ordinary surroundings of her sex? How will this child of nature behave in the artificial world of "society?" We may trust Shakespeare to solve this problem successfully, but who else than he could have done it? Who else would have dared to bring this innocent and ignorant creature � ignorant at least of all the conventional ways of social life � face to face with a lover, and that lover a prince, the flower of courtly cultivation and gallantry, as her very first experience of the new world to which she is destined to be transferred?

The result is one of the highest triumphs of his art, � because, as he himself has said in referring to the development of new beauty in flowers by cultivation, "the art itself is nature" (Winter's Tale, iv. 4. 97). This modest wildflower, under his fostering care, unfolds into a blossom of rarer beauty, fit for a king's garden, without losing anything of its native delicacy or sweetness. As Mrs. Jameson says, "There is nothing of the kind in poetry equal to the scene between Ferdinand and Miranda." To attempt to comment upon it would be to gild refined gold or to paint the lily; and I shall be guilty of no such "wasteful and ridiculous excess." I may, however, venture to call attention to the unconscious humour of Miranda's reply to her father, when, in playing the part of pretended distrust of Ferdinand, he says:� "foolish wench!

To the most of men this is a Caliban, And they to him are angels." "My affections," she replies, � "Are then most humble; I have no ambition To see a goodlier man." Other men may be angels, in comparison with Ferdinand, but he is good enough for her. And again must "inward laughter" have "tickled all his soul" (to borrow Tennyson's phrase) when Ferdinand is piling the logs, and the sympathetic girl comes to cheer him, little suspecting that Prospero is hidden within earshot. Love has made the artless maiden artful, and she suggests that the young man may shirk the unprincely labour for the nonce:� "My father Is hard at study: pray, now, rest yourself; He's safe for these three hours." Pretty traitor to the one authority that has been the law of her life till now! Miranda's frank offer to carry logs while Ferdinand rests is a natural touch that might at first seem unnatural, but how thoroughly in keeping with the character it is after all.

This child of nature, healthy, strong, active, familiar with the rough demands of life on this uninhabited island, and unfamiliar with the chivalrous deference to woman that exempts her from menial labour in civilized society, sees nothing "mean" or "odious" or "heavy" in piling the wood, as Ferdinand does; and when he resents the idea of her undergoing such "dishonour" while he sits lazy by, nothing could be more natural than her reply:� "It would become me As well as it does you; and I should do it With much more ease, for my good will is to it, And yours it is against." It is hard for him every way � as severe a strain upon his muscles as upon his pride. As he says later:� "I am, in my condition, A prince, Miranda; I do think, a king;� I would, not so! � and would no more endure This wooden slavery than to suffer The flesh-fly blow my mouth.

Hear my soul speak: The very instant that I saw you, did My heart fly to your service; there resides, To make me slave to it, and for your sake Am I this patient log-man." Ferdinand has been well characterized by Miss O'Brien, in her paper on Shakespeare's Young Men, in the Westminster Review. In her classification of these youths she puts Ferdinand and Florizel (of The Winter's Tale) together: "They are as much alike in nature as their charming companions, Miranda and Perdita. Both are wonderfully fresh and natural for the products of court training; both fall in love swiftly and completely; both have that tender grace, that purity of affection, shown in many others, but never more perfectly than in them. Theirs is not the wild passion of Romeo and Juliet; there is nothing high-wrought and feverish about their love-making; it is the simple outcome of pure and healthy feeling; and it is difficult to say which gives us the prettier picture � Ferdinand holding Miranda's little hands on the lonely shore, or Florizel receiving Perdita's flowers among the bustle of the harvesting.

Ferdinand has the most fire and energy, though he should not have been the first to desert the ship in the magic storm. He has the best character altogether, showing much affection for his father, and a manly, straightforward way of going to work generally. Florizel is grace and charm personified, and has the most bewitching tongue; but he is too pliant, too taken up with one idea, to be quite so satisfactory." As to Ferdinand's behaviour in the shipwreck, it was due to the fact that it was a "magic storm" and he was not his own master. It was a part of Prospero's plan that the people on board the ship should be scattered in certain groups on shore and that Ferdinand should be separated from the rest; and Ariel carries out his master's directions. When Prospero afterward asks him whether the men are all safe, he replies:� "Not a hair perish'd; On their sustaining garments not a blemish, But fresher than before; and, as thou bad'st me. In troops I have dispers'd them 'bout the isle.

The king's son have I landed by himself, Whom I left cooling of the air with sighs In an odd angle of the isle, and sitting. His arms in this sad knot." How to cite this article: Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare's Comedy of The Tempest. Ed. William J. Rolfe. New York: American Book Company, 1904. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2009. (date when you accessed the information) < >. _________ Shakespeare's The Tempest: Summary, Characters & Analysis - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com Shakespeare's The Tempest: Summary, Characters & Analysis Watch short & fun videos Start Your Free Trial Today An error occurred trying to load this video. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. You must create an account to continue watching Register for a free trial Are you a student or a teacher? I am a student Start Your Free Trial To Continue Watching As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed.

Coming up next: Thane of Cawdor: Meaning in Macbeth & Overview You're on a roll. Keep up the good work! Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds 0:00 Summary of ''The Tempest'' 1:11 Characters Add to Add to Add to Want to watch this again later? Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course. Custom Courses are courses that you create from Study.com lessons. Use them just like other courses to track progress, access quizzes and exams, and share content. Teachers Organize and share selected lessons with your class. Make planning easier by creating your own custom course. Students Create a new course from any lesson page or your dashboard. From any lesson page: Click "Add to" located below the video player and follow the prompts to name your course and save your lesson. From your dashboard: Click on the "Custom Courses" tab, then click "Create course". Next, go to any lesson page and begin adding lessons. Edit your Custom Course directly from your dashboard. Personalize: Name your Custom Course and add an optional description or learning objective. Organize: Create chapters to group lesson within your course. Remove and reorder chapters and lessons at any time.

Share your Custom Course or assign lessons and chapters. Teacher Edition: Share or assign lessons and chapters by clicking the "Teacher" tab on the lesson or chapter page you want to assign. Students' quiz scores and video views will be trackable in your "Teacher" tab. Premium Edition: You can share your Custom Course by copying and pasting the course URL. Only Study.com members will be able to access the entire course. Create an account to start this course today Try it free for 5 days! Lesson Transcript Instructor: Ryan Bing The Tempest is a tale of magic, deception, revenge, and marriage. Learn what happens as Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, plots revenge against his foes on a remote island. Then, examine some critical analyses of the play. Summary of The Tempest The Tempest is a play that was written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s. When the play begins, Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, and his teenage daughter, Miranda, live on a remote island where they have been stranded for the past twelve years. Their only companions are Ariel, a magical spirit enslaved by Prospero, and Caliban, a native of the island who is also enslaved by Prospero.

Prospero was originally Duke of Milan, but his position was usurped by his brother Antonio, possibly with the consent of King Alonso of Naples and Alonso's brother Sebastian. The play opens with Antonio, Alonso, and several of their retainers on a ship in a great storm, the titular tempest. Unbeknownst to them, the storm is the work of Prospero, who aims to shipwreck them on his island. Once they are washed ashore, Prospero plans to take revenge on his foes and regain his position as Duke of Milan. Eventually, through magic, intimidation, and trickery, Prospero succeeds in his plans. Prospero is restored to his dukedom, brings about the revelation of Antonio's betrayal, and secures the marriage of Miranda to King Alonso's son, Prince Ferdinand. Characters Let's take a look at the characters in this play: Prospero is the former Duke of Milan, treacherously overthrown by his brother Antonio. Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, narrowly escaped death during the coup with the help of Gonzalo. Now stranded on a remote island, Prospero is a great sorcerer who draws his powers from his books and from the enslaved spirit Ariel.

Prospero plots revenge on his enemies, and this drives much of the action in the play. Miranda is Prospero's teenage daughter, who has been stranded on the island with Prospero for the past twelve years. By the end of the play, Miranda has fallen in love with Ferdinand and the two are engaged to be married, much to Prospero's delight. Ariel is a magical spirit enslaved by Prospero. Ariel as well as Ariel's magic play a key role in Prospero's deceptions and powers. At the end of the play, Prospero agrees to free Ariel as a reward for Ariel's service. Caliban is the son of Sycorax. Caliban and Sycorax inhabited the island when Prospero and Miranda arrived. When the play starts, Sycorax has died and Prospero has enslaved Caliban. Over the course of the play, Caliban rebels against Prospero, but at the end of the play, Caliban agrees to obey Prospero again. Sycorax is an earlier inhabitant of the island and Caliban's mother. Sycorax has died by the time the play starts, but she is mentioned several times by Prospero and Caliban.

Alonso is the king of Naples. Prospero believes Alonso was complicit in Antonio's betrayal of Prospero, but by the end of the play, Alonso restores Prospero to his dukedom and agrees that Alonso's son, Prince Ferdinand, should marry Prospero's daughter, Miranda. Sebastian is Alonso's treacherous brother. Over the course of the play, Sebastian plots unsuccessfully to kill Alonso and Ferdinand in order to place himself on the throne. At the end of the play, Sebastian's treachery is revealed and forgiven. Antonio is Prospero's brother, who usurped Prospero's position as Duke of Milan. While on the island, Antonio and Sebastian plot, without success, to kill Alonso and his family. At the end of the play, Prospero begrudgingly forgives Antonio after Prospero is restored to his dukedom. Ferdinand is Alonso's son and Prince of Naples. With help from Prospero's magic and manipulation, Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda over the course of the play. By the end of the play, the two are engaged to be married. Gonzalo is a Neapolitan courtier who provided Miranda and Prospero with water, food, and books when they were at sea.

Trinculo is the King's jester. He is also a friend of Stephano. Trinculo and Stephano's misadventures on the island are a large part of the comic relief in the play. Stephano is the king's steward and friend of Trinculo. Stephano unsuccessfully attempts to help Caliban overthrow Prospero. Analysis Now that we've covered the plot and characters of the play, let's take a moment to analyze the play. × "The Tempest" - Shakespeare: Father? Daughter? Relationship? This Blog is for my class on Shakespeare where we were each given a play by Shakespeare to blog about. Wednesday, November 3, 2010 Father? Daughter? Relationship? In the Shakespeare's play The Tempest the relationship isn't shown as one of much love from the father Prospero. After being trapped on an island for twelve years, he waits until the information is beneficial to himself as well as his daughter Miranda before telling her about her heritage and why they are on the island. He could have told her years before in order to calm her curiosity as to why her father was the only person she's even seen that she remembers.

But Prospero waits until by happenstance, his enemy's ship was blown off course near the island that Prospero and Miranda are stuck on. It is then, in Act one, Scene 2, that Prospero tells Miranda that he was once the Duke of Milan and a Prince of power until his brother Antonio betrayed him and took his position. After their conversation Miranda "falls" asleep when really Prospero put her to sleep with his magic "Will ever after droop. Her cease more questions./ Thou art inclined to sleep. 'Tis a good dullness,/ And give it way. I know thou canst not choose" so that she is out of the way until he needs her. Throughout the play he seems to be thinking about her happiness by wanting her to fall in love with and marry Ferdinand, the son to the King of Naples. But in reality it was his way of using them to get of the island and possibly get his position back "Ay, with a heart as willing/As bondage e'er of freedom. Here's my hand." Throughout the Play it seems as though all Prospero cares about is getting off the island and not about what will happen to his daughter.

Although in the beginning it says, "You have often/Begun to tell me what I am, but stopped/ And left me to a bootless inquisition,/Concluding, "Stay, not yet." Showing that he was waiting for the right time not caring that Miranda was a little lost and confused because it is in a child to know who they are and he wasn't ready to share that information. As to say the this particular father/daughter relationship isn't one of much love and devotion, unless that devotion is veered towards the use of one's daughter to benefit for yourself. Although in the end they all win Prospero was more focused on himself but in that he wanted love to form between Miranda and Ferdinand would show that he does love his daughter and wants her to be happy but only if things go his way and he can get off the island. This shows that Prospero's love for his daughter isn't a traditional one. To gain from the use of others seems to be Prospero's "thing", which is what he does to get what he wants, through his own daughter and his magic. The traditional father/daughter relationship is usually one of love and the daughter being spoiled and the father being OVER protective.

Prospero and Miranda don't fit this traditional mold. Posted by The Tempest | Folger Shakespeare Library FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY 201 East Capitol Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 Open to the public every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. January 24 – March 5, 2017 Stage Director Talk: As You Like It January 26, 2017 at 6:30 PM The Folger's online catalog is your first stop for finding items in our rich rare and modern materials collections. The Folger is looking for exceptionally qualified individuals who are committed to the mission, vision, and values of our organization. You are here Buy the play A story of shipwreck and magic, The Tempest begins on a ship caught in a violent storm with Alonso, the king of Naples, on board. On a nearby island, the exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero, tells his daughter, Miranda, that he has caused the storm with his magical powers. Prospero had been banished twelve years earlier when Prospero's brother, Antonio—also on the doomed ship—conspired with Alonso to become the duke instead.

Prospero and Miranda are served by a spirit named Ariel and by Caliban, son of the island's previous inhabitant, the witch Sycorax. On the island, castaways from the wreck begin to appear. First is Alonso's son Ferdinand, who immediately falls in love with Miranda. Prospero secretly approves of their love, but tests the pair by enslaving Ferdinand. After secretly watching Miranda and Ferdinand exchange vows, Prospero releases Ferdinand and consents to their marriage. Other castaways who appear are Trinculo and Stephano, Alonso's jester and butler, who join forces with Caliban to kill Prospero and take over the island. The nobles from the ship search for Ferdinand and are confronted with a spectacle including a Harpy, who convinces Alonso that Ferdinand’s death is retribution for Prospero’s exile. Having all his enemies under his control, Prospero decides to forgive them. Alonso, joyously reunited with his son, restores Prospero to the dukedom of Milan and welcomes Miranda as Ferdinand’s wife. As all except Caliban and Ariel prepare to leave the island, Prospero, who has given up his magic, bids farewell to the island and the audience.

Early printed texts The Tempest was printed for the first time in the 1623 First Folio, and that text serves as the source for all subsequent editions. SparkNotes: The Tempest: Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Illusion of Justice The Tempest tells a fairly straightforward story involving an unjust act, the usurpation of Prospero’s throne by his brother, and Prospero’s quest to re-establish justice by restoring himself to power. However, the idea of justice that the play works toward seems highly subjective, since this idea represents the view of one character who controls the fate of all the other characters. Though Prospero presents himself as a victim of injustice working to right the wrongs that have been done to him, Prospero’s idea of justice and injustice is somewhat hypocritical—though he is furious with his brother for taking his power, he has no qualms about enslaving Ariel and Caliban in order to achieve his ends. At many moments throughout the play, Prospero’s sense of justice seems extremely one-sided and mainly involves what is good for Prospero.

Moreover, because the play offers no notion of higher order or justice to supersede Prospero’s interpretation of events, the play is morally ambiguous. As the play progresses, however, it becomes more and more involved with the idea of creativity and art, and Prospero’s role begins to mirror more explicitly the role of an author creating a story around him. With this metaphor in mind, and especially if we accept Prospero as a surrogate for Shakespeare himself, Prospero’s sense of justice begins to seem, if not perfect, at least sympathetic. Moreover, the means he uses to achieve his idea of justice mirror the machinations of the artist, who also seeks to enable others to see his view of the world. Playwrights arrange their stories in such a way that their own idea of justice is imposed upon events. In The Tempest, the author is in the play, and the fact that he establishes his idea of justice and creates a happy ending for all the characters becomes a cause for celebration, not criticism. By using magic and tricks that echo the special effects and spectacles of the theater, Prospero gradually persuades the other characters and the audience of the rightness of his case. As he does so, the ambiguities surrounding his methods slowly resolve themselves.

Prospero forgives his enemies, releases his slaves, and relinquishes his magic power, so that, at the end of the play, he is only an old man whose work has been responsible for all the audience’s pleasure. The establishment of Prospero’s idea of justice becomes less a commentary on justice in life than on the nature of morality in art. Happy endings are possible, Shakespeare seems to say, because the creativity of artists can create them, even if the moral values that establish the happy ending originate from nowhere but the imagination of the artist. The Difficulty of Distinguishing “Men” from “Monsters” Upon seeing Ferdinand for the first time, Miranda says that he is “the third man that e’er I saw” (I.ii.449). The other two are, presumably, Prospero and Caliban. In their first conversation with Caliban, however, Miranda and Prospero say very little that shows they consider him to be human.

Miranda reminds Caliban that before she taught him language, he gabbled “like / A thing most brutish” (I.ii.359–360) and Prospero says that he gave Caliban “human care” (I.ii.349), implying that this was something Caliban ultimately did not deserve. Caliban’s exact nature continues to be slightly ambiguous later. In Act IV, scene i, reminded of Caliban’s plot, Prospero refers to him as a “devil, a born devil, on whose nature / Nurture can never stick” (IV.i.188–189). Miranda and Prospero both have contradictory views of Caliban’s humanity. On the one hand, they think that their education of him has lifted him from his formerly brutish status. On the other hand, they seem to see him as inherently brutish. His devilish nature can never be overcome by nurture, according to Prospero. Miranda expresses a similar sentiment in Act I, scene ii: “thy vile race, / Though thou didst learn, had that in’t which good natures / Could not abide to be with” (I.ii.361–363).

The inhuman part of Caliban drives out the human part, the “good nature,” that is imposed on him. Caliban claims that he was kind to Prospero, and that Prospero repaid that kindness by imprisoning him (see I.ii.347). In contrast, Prospero claims that he stopped being kind to Caliban once Caliban had tried to rape Miranda (I.ii.347–351). Which character the audience decides to believe depends on whether it views Caliban as inherently brutish, or as made brutish by oppression. The play leaves the matter ambiguous. Caliban balances all of his eloquent speeches, such as his curses in Act I, scene ii and his speech about the isle’s “noises” in Act III, scene ii, with the most degrading kind of drunken, servile behavior. But Trinculo’s speech upon first seeing Caliban (II.ii.18–38), the longest speech in the play, reproaches too harsh a view of Caliban and blurs the distinction between men and monsters.

In England, which he visited once, Trinculo says, Caliban could be shown off for money: “There would this monster make a man. Any strange beast there makes a man. When they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian” (II.ii.28–31). What seems most monstrous in these sentences is not the “dead Indian,” or “any strange beast,” but the cruel voyeurism of those who capture and gape at them. The Allure of Ruling a Colony The nearly uninhabited island presents the sense of infinite possibility to almost everyone who lands there. Prospero has found it, in its isolation, an ideal place to school his daughter. Sycorax, Caliban’s mother, worked her magic there after she was exiled from Algeria. Caliban, once alone on the island, now Prospero’s slave, laments that he had been his own king (I.ii.344–345). As he attempts to comfort Alonso, Gonzalo imagines a utopian society on the island, over which he would rule (II.i.148–156).

In Act III, scene ii, Caliban suggests that Stephano kill Prospero, and Stephano immediately envisions his own reign: “Monster, I will kill this man. His daughter and I will be King and Queen—save our graces!—and Trinculo and thyself shall be my viceroys” (III.ii.101–103). Stephano particularly looks forward to taking advantage of the spirits that make “noises” on the isle; they will provide music for his kingdom for free. All these characters envision the island as a space of freedom and unrealized potential. The tone of the play, however, toward the hopes of the would-be colonizers is vexed at best. Gonzalo’s utopian vision in Act II, scene i is undercut by a sharp retort from the usually foolish Sebastian and Antonio. When Gonzalo says that there would be no commerce or work or “sovereignty” in his society, Sebastian replies, “yet he would be king on’t,” and Antonio adds, “The latter end of his commonwealth forgets the beginning” (II.i.156–157).

Gonzalo’s fantasy thus involves him ruling the island while seeming not to rule it, and in this he becomes a kind of parody of Prospero. While there are many representatives of the colonial impulse in the play, the colonized have only one representative: Caliban. We might develop sympathy for him at first, when Prospero seeks him out merely to abuse him, and when we see him tormented by spirits. However, this sympathy is made more difficult by his willingness to abase himself before Stephano in Act II, scene ii. Even as Caliban plots to kill one colonial master (Prospero) in Act III, scene ii, he sets up another (Stephano). The urge to rule and the urge to be ruled seem inextricably intertwined. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Masters and Servants Nearly every scene in the play either explicitly or implicitly portrays a relationship between a figure that possesses power and a figure that is subject to that power.

The play explores the master-servant dynamic most harshly in cases in which the harmony of the relationship is threatened or disrupted, as by the rebellion of a servant or the ineptitude of a master. For instance, in the opening scene, the “servant” (the Boatswain) is dismissive and angry toward his “masters” (the noblemen), whose ineptitude threatens to lead to a shipwreck in the storm. From then on, master-servant relationships like these dominate the play: Prospero and Caliban; Prospero and Ariel; Alonso and his nobles; the nobles and Gonzalo; Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban; and so forth. The play explores the psychological and social dynamics of power relationships from a number of contrasting angles, such as the generally positive relationship between Prospero and Ariel, the generally negative relationship between Prospero and Caliban, and the treachery in Alonso’s relationship to his nobles. Water and Drowning The play is awash with references to water.

The Mariners enter “wet” in Act I, scene i, and Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo enter “all wet,” after being led by Ariel into a swampy lake (IV.i.193). Miranda’s fear for the lives of the sailors in the “wild waters” (I.ii.2) causes her to weep. Alonso, believing his son dead because of his own actions against Prospero, decides in Act III, scene iii to drown himself. His language is echoed by Prospero in Act V, scene i when the magician promises that, once he has reconciled with his enemies, “deeper than did ever plummet sound / I’ll drown my book” (V.i.56–57). These are only a few of the references to water in the play. Occasionally, the references to water are used to compare characters. For example, the echo of Alonso’s desire to drown himself in Prospero’s promise to drown his book calls attention to the similarity of the sacrifices each man must make. Alonso must be willing to give up his life in order to become truly penitent and to be forgiven for his treachery against Prospero.

Similarly, in order to rejoin the world he has been driven from, Prospero must be willing to give up his magic and his power. Perhaps the most important overall effect of this water motif is to heighten the symbolic importance of the tempest itself. It is as though the water from that storm runs through the language and action of the entire play—just as the tempest itself literally and crucially affects the lives and actions of all the characters. Mysterious Noises The isle is indeed, as Caliban says, “full of noises” (III.ii.130). The play begins with a “tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning” (I.i.1, stage direction), and the splitting of the ship is signaled in part by “a confused noise within” (I.i.54, stage direction). Much of the noise of the play is musical, and much of the music is Ariel’s. Ferdinand is led to Miranda by Ariel’s music. Ariel’s music also wakes Gonzalo just as Antonio and Sebastian are about to kill Alonso in Act II, scene i.

Moreover, the magical banquet of Act III, scene iii is laid out to the tune of “Solemn and strange music” (III.iii.18, stage direction), and Juno and Ceres sing in the wedding masque (IV.i.106–117). The noises, sounds, and music of the play are made most significant by Caliban’s speech about the noises of the island at III.ii.130–138. Shakespeare shows Caliban in the thrall of magic, which the theater audience also experiences as the illusion of thunder, rain, invisibility. The action of The Tempest is very simple. What gives the play most of its hypnotic, magical atmosphere is the series of dreamlike events it stages, such as the tempest, the magical banquet, and the wedding masque. Accompanied by music, these present a feast for the eye and the ear and convince us of the magical glory of Prospero’s enchanted isle.

Symbols The Tempest | ﻿Southern Shakespeare Festival Home » About Us » Our History » The Tempest The Tempest Magician Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, and his daughter, Miranda, have been stranded for twelve years on an island after Prospero’s jealous brother Antonio (aided by Alonso, the King of Naples) deposed him and set him adrift with the then-3-year-old Miranda. Gonzalo, the King’s counsellor, had secretly supplied their boat with plenty of food, water, clothes and the most-prized books from Prospero’s library. Possessing magic powers due to his great learning, Prospero is reluctantly served by a spirit, Ariel, whom Prospero had rescued from a tree in which he had been trapped by the witch Sycorax. Prospero maintains Ariel’s loyalty by repeatedly promising to release the “airy spirit” from servitude. Sycorax had been banished to the island, and had died before Prospero’s arrival. Her son, Caliban, a deformed monster and the only non-spiritual inhabitant before the arrival of Prospero, was initially adopted and raised by him.

He taught Prospero how to survive on the island, while Prospero and Miranda taught Caliban religion and their own language. Following Caliban’s attempted rape of Miranda, he had been compelled by Prospero to serve as the magician’s slave. In slavery, Caliban has come to view Prospero as a usurper and has grown to resent him and his daughter. Prospero and Miranda in turn view Caliban with contempt and disgust. The play opens as Prospero, having divined that his brother, Antonio, is on a ship passing close by the island, has raised a tempest which causes the ship to run aground. Also on the ship are Antonio’s friend and fellow conspirator, King Alonso of Naples, Alonso’s brother and son (Sebastian and Ferdinand), and Alonso’s advisor, Gonzalo. All these passengers are returning from the wedding of Alonso’s daughter Claribel with the King of Tunis. Prospero contrives to separate the shipwreck survivors into several groups by his spells, and so Alonso and Ferdinand are separated, each believing the other to be dead. Three plots then alternate through the play.

In one, Caliban falls in with Stephano and Trinculo, two drunkards, whom he believes have come from the moon. They attempt to raise a rebellion against Prospero, which ultimately fails. In another, Prospero works to establish a romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda; the two fall immediately in love, but Prospero worries that “too light winning make the prize light,” and compels Ferdinand to become his servant, pretending that he regards him as a spy. In the third subplot, Antonio and Sebastian conspire to kill Alonso and Gonzalo so that Sebastian can become King. Ariel thwarts them, at Prospero’s command. Ariel appears to the “three men of sin” (Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian) as a harpy, reprimanding them for their betrayal of Prospero. Prospero manipulates the course of his enemies’ path through the island, drawing them closer and closer to him. In the conclusion, all the main characters are brought together before Prospero, who forgives Alonso. He also forgives Antonio and Sebastian, but warns them against further betrayal.

Ariel is charged to prepare the proper sailing weather to guide Alonso and his entourage (including Prospero and Miranda) back to the Royal fleet and then to Naples, where Ferdinand and Miranda will be married. After discharging this task, Ariel will finally be free. Prospero pardons Caliban, who is sent to prepare Prospero’s cell, to which Alonso and his party are invited for a final night before their departure. (It is however not made clear whether, after their departure, Caliban will remain on the island or whether he will be taken to Naples). Prospero indicates that he intends to entertain them with the story of his life on the island. Prospero has resolved to break and bury his magic staff, and “drown” his book of magic, and in his epilogue, shorn of his magic powers, he invites the audience to set him free from the island with their applause. The Tempest: Entire Play The Tempest SCENE II. The island. Before PROSPERO'S cell. Enter PROSPERO and MIRANDA SCENE I. Another part of the island.

Enter ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, GONZALO, ADRIAN, FRANCISCO, and others SCENE II. Another part of the island. Enter CALIBAN with a burden of wood. A noise of thunder heard SCENE I. Before PROSPERO'S Cell. Enter FERDINAND, bearing a log SCENE II. Another part of the island. Enter CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and TRINCULO SCENE III. Another part of the island. Enter ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, GONZALO, ADRIAN, FRANCISCO, and others SCENE I. Before PROSPERO'S cell. Enter PROSPERO, FERDINAND, and MIRANDA SCENE I. Before PROSPERO'S cell. Enter PROSPERO in his magic robes, and ARIEL I'll drown my book.

Solemn music Re-enter ARIEL before: then ALONSO, with a frantic gesture, attended by GONZALO; SEBASTIAN and ANTONIO in like manner, attended by ADRIAN and FRANCISCO they all enter the circle which PROSPERO had made, and there stand charmed; which PROSPERO observing, speaks:

Question: In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', what is the name of the daughter of 'Prospero' who falls in love with 'Ferdinand'?
Answer: 'MIRANDA'